This week was “Sunshine Week,” where hundreds of organizations, civic groups, and schools around the country held events to educate the public and advocate for transparency in government. If we truly are to have a government “of, by, and for the people,” we must be open and honest about how the people’s business is being conducted. In the spirit of Sunshine Week, I want to shine a light on the lack of transparency which has taken place over the first few months of 2019 in the U.S. House of Repre... READ MORE
This week Democrat leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives voted on H.R. 1, the “For the People Act,” their signature legislation this Congress. Speaker Pelosi said her goal is to clean up elections and “restore integrity” to government, but H.R. 1 makes our elections vulnerable to fraud, violates the Constitution, and injects taxpayer funds into political campaigns. Unfortunately, H.R. 1 isn’t for the people at all, but for the politicians and political consultants who will profit and stay... READ MORE
WASHINGTON – Rep. Jason Smith (MO-08) and Rep. Mark Meadows (NC-11), Chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, blasted Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and the Democrat-controlled Rules Committee today for preventing their amendment to H.R. 1, the For the People Act, from receiving a vote. The simple amendment would require Immigrations and Customs Enforcement to verify the citizenship of any person who would be automatically registered to vote under H.R. 1. “Speaker Pelosi said H.R. 1 was about cl... READ MORE
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Wednesday Congressman Jason Smith (MO-08) and Senator Ted Cruz (TX) introduced the Student Empowerment Act, which would expand the use of tax-free 529 College Savings Plans to allow families to save for K-12 education expenses. Eligible expenses would include tuition, books and instructional materials, tutoring expenses, fees for exams related to college admissions, and educational therapy for students with disabilities. “The Student Empowerment Act will help working families ... READ MORE
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Thursday the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Student Empowerment Act, authored by Congressman Jason Smith (MO-08) and Senator Ted Cruz (TX), to expand the use of 529 College Savings Plans to allow families to save for K-12 education expenses. Eligible expenses would include tuition, books and instructional materials, tutoring expenses, fees for exams related to college admissions, and educational therapy for students with disabilities. Additionally, the Student Empowe... READ MORE
Choosing our elected leaders in the voting booth is one of our most sacred rights and serious responsibilities as American citizens. Yet some states are now pushing to hand this privilege and civic duty over to people who are in our country illegally, undermining both our electoral process and what it means to be an American citizen. Cities in California, Illinois, and Maryland are taking the extreme step of disregarding their state constitutions and registering illegal immigrants to vote in ele... READ MORE
America, in her earliest days, was founded as a safe haven for religious people. After our founding fathers fought a revolution and established this liberty, many Europeans fled persecution of their faiths and suffered a long, perilous pilgrimage to America to find free land. A land of people united in establishing a country unlike any other seen before, a union of free states governed by people with the freedom to live according to their own individual conscience and religious beliefs. Religiou... READ MORE
One of the most important decisions a president will ever make is who to nominate to the highest court in the land, the Supreme Court of the United States. Our country places a tremendous amount of responsibility on the nine men and women of the Court, and these justices shape the direction of the country for decades after their confirmation. Retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy was nominated by President Ronald Reagan in 1987, and he served on the bench for 29 years after President Reagan left the ... READ MORE
Did you know that on his way out of office, President Obama tried to regulate the ammo in your gun and the fishing sinkers in your tackle box? Before he jetted off to the Caribbean, President Obama managed to take a final swipe at Missourians’ way of life with “Director’s Order No. 219,” a last-minute regulation that banned lead ammunition and fishing tackle on federal lands. In other words, President Obama’s rule would not have allowed you to take shotgun shells or fishing sinkers with you to h... READ MORE
President Trump exercised one of the most significant responsibilities given to him by Article II of the United States Constitution this week when he nominated Judge Neil Gorsuch to replace the late Justice Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court. Filling Justice Scalia’s shoes will be no easy task, but I have no doubt that a conservative pro-life judge like Gorsuch will be up to the challenge. In the coming months, the Supreme Court will be faced with decisions on legal challenges to the countless ... READ MORE